Many fast food restaurants as well as other retailers have games, promotions, giveaways, or other such events in order to lure customers into purchasing their goods. Oftentimes, labels are secured to the goods and the customers must purchase the goods in order to participate in the game. The game piece itself is typically hidden from view within the label and the customer must remove part or all of the label in order to view the game piece. The game piece may be a collectable item in which the customer tries to collect an entire set or the game piece may be redeemed to the vendor, for instance, in order to receive free goods or prizes.
An example of a label having such a game piece is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,473 to Laszutko et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference. With reference to FIGS. 1A to 1C, a label 10 described in the Laszutko et al. patent includes a first label composite 20 and a second label composite 22. The first label composite 20 includes a face layer 26 and a release layer 27 which is formed of a liner 28 and a release coating 29. The face layer 26 and release layer 27 are laminated together with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30. The second label composite 22 also includes a face layer 34 and a release layer 35 which is formed of a liner 36 and release coating 38. The face layer 34 is laminated to the release layer 35 with a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 40. The first and second label composites 20 and 22 are laminated together with an adhesive 42 and are positioned relative to each other so that surface 52 of the face layer 26 is in contact with surface 54 of face layer 34. The adhesive 42 is applied between the label composites 20 and 22 only in adhesive bar sections 14.
In use, the release layer 27 is peeled away from the rest of the label 10 and the face layer 26 is secured to a substrate with the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 30 with this substrate, in one example, being a beverage cup. A customer who purchases the cup having the label 10 pulls a tab section 12 of the label 10 in order to separate the second label composite 22 from the face layer 26 of the first label composite 22. The label 10 has perforations 43 which are formed entirely through the second label composite 22 and partially through the first label composite 20 in order to assist in the removal of the second label composite 22. A front 54 of the face layer 34 may include printing in order to form the collectable component of the label 10. If desired, the customer may remove the release layer 35 to expose the adhesive layer 40 and then secure the collectable component to a game board or other surface. The second label composite 22 includes a cut line 45 to assist in the removal of the release layer 35 from the adhesive layer 40.
A typical label, such as label 10 shown in the Laszutko patent, is relatively expensive to manufacture. The label is generally a four-ply label with two of the plies being made from glossy paper stock and the other two plies being release layers, which may be formed of conventional paper or polymer stock coated with a release agent. The label also includes two complete layers of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. All of these layers and materials are rather expensive. A layer of the pressure-sensitive adhesive, for instance, is actually more expensive than one of the plies of paper, such as roughly 1.5 times the cost of the paper. A release layer is even more expensive than both the paper and the pressure-sensitive adhesive with its cost being approximately three times that of a single ply of paper. The use of two release layers and two layers of the pressure-sensitive adhesive therefore substantially increases the cost of the label.
In addition to expense, other problems of a typical label relate to its consumer friendliness. Some of the conventional labels have been difficult to remove from the supporting substrate, such as a beverage cup. When the customer attempts to remove the label, the customer inadvertently tears or otherwise damages the label itself. Once removed, customers have had difficulty in handling the labels or game pieces. For example, some game pieces are difficult to collect since they are not easily secured to a game board. Other game pieces, in contrast, have an adhesive layer exposed once the game piece is removed from the cup. These game pieces, however, are undesirable since the customer must immediately secure the game piece to the game board, which may have been left at home or at a different location.